Can Kell Brook claim a victory in his final Sheffield fight? He’s building up his clash with Michael Zerafa on Saturday by claiming that he’s looking elsewhere for his 2019 bouts. He’s also aiming for some money-spinning outings in the New Year, after setting up two mismatched encounters to respond to last year’s struggles.

Brook comes into this one as 1/50 favourite, while Australian Zerafa is way out at odds of 11/1 to cause a shock. The outsider has been talking a big game ahead of Saturday’s fight, but the bookies clearly don’t expect much from him. Many see this one as a safe bet from Brook, but will he be able to put on a show in what might be his final outing in front of his hometown crowd?

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Fight Info

Brook is returning to the FlyDSA Arena for the second time this year. He staged a couple of high profile fights at the O2 Arena and Bramall Lane in 2017, but he’s traded that for the 13,000-capacity arena. With a return to London likely for his major fights next year, Brook should drink in the atmosphere of the hometown crowd once again.

Venue

Division & Title

Channel

Time

FlyDSA Arena

Super Welterweight

Sky Sports

10pm

Kell Brook Recent Fights

There’s been a clear change in approach from Brook this year. Going up against Zerafa isn’t the riskiest move and nor was the clash with Rabchenko back in March. It seems like he’s just treading water waiting for a bigger bout down the line. When putting his reputation at stake could cost him millions, it’s not hard to understand why he’s playing it safe.

Hopes of kicking on and landing big fights diminished after the 2017 losses to Errol Spence Jr and Gennady Golovkin. Those two defeats came in world title bouts, which has set Brook back. Kicking on and chasing titles looks beyond his reach right now, so he’s playing a waiting game as he pushes for bigger things in 2019.

Opponent

Date

Result

Method of Victory

Sergey Rabchenko

3rd March 2018

Win

Knockout

Errol Spence Jr

27th May 2017

Loss

Knockout

Gennady Golovkin

10th September 2016

Loss

Technical Knockout

Michael Zerafa Recent Fights

The underdog comes here with a pretty low calibre record behind him. It’s fair to say most casual fans know little about Zerafa, despite his big claims in the build up to this fight. He’s done his best to make sure he is remembered, but a quick look over his recent outings doesn’t exactly suggest that he’s about to kick on and take out Brook in Saturday’s big encounter. While the Australian has a few wins behind him, the 26-year-old isn’t well versed in bouts against big names. The Brook bout is comfortably the biggest he’s been involved in to date.

His recent victories haven’t been against recognisable names, with his biggest fight to date coming against Peter Quillin. That one saw him knocked out in the fifth, which doesn’t bode well for the meeting at the weekend. He’s taking a bigger step up than Quillin now, and with Brook gunning for a victory it’s hard to see this working out for Zerafa.

Opponent

Date

Result

Method of Victory

Jose Agustin Feria

31st August 2018

Win

Technical Knockout

Wade Ryan

1st June 2018

Win

Unanimous Decision

Adam Harper

16th March 2018

Win

Unanimous Decision

Fight News

The build up to this one is dominated by the potential clash between Brook and Khan. Special K has been backed to make the weight limit for a clash with Khan in 2019. However, Khan has gone in for his potential opponent, and claimed that he’ll be prioritising title fights over a clash with Brook in the near future.

Meanwhile, Zerafa isn’t struggling despite Brook’s focus clearly being elsewhere. The Australian has claimed that he’ll punish Special K for underestimating him. Zerafa has also said that he’s in the best condition of his life, which will see him rattle Brook from the get-go in Sheffield this weekend.

Analysis: Brook for Routine Win

Brook is the clear favourite, with Zerafa’s lack of experience making him the underdog for this contest. The hometown hero is boosted by a strong crowd behind him, who will be determined to give him some support in potentially his final run-out in Sheffield. However, just how will Special K manage to claim a victory in this one?

Brook in Rounds 4-6

If Zerafa is going to come out swinging here, then this contest may end up being more open than previously expected. He should bring energy and some swagger based on his comments, but we don’t see him troubling the favourite in the end. His approach should see this bout soldier past the early rounds, and we’re backing the encounter to be wrapped up by Brook between rounds 4 and 6, a bet which can be backed at the tempting price of 13/5.

Brook in Round 5

To get a little more specific, we think that Brook will land a victory in the fifth round of this contest. He comes into this bout after a straightforward win over Rabchenko in March, and he has seen the majority of his wins come via a KO. With Zerafa’s one early defeat to date coming in the fifth, we can see history repeating itself as Brook wraps up the year with a straightforward victory.

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